Should we shut the f*** up?

[Cetacea]

Humans are the most advanced species we are ever going to encounter and thus all the cash spent on trying to contact the advanced alien civilisations out there is entirely wasted.

It could better be spent making things better on Earth (or possibly in our own Solar neighbourhood.)

If advanced civilisations are out there that could possibly encounter us then they are welcome to try and get here on their own

[North German Realm]

That's why you don't launch just one nuke at them. If it comes to actual blows, you must strike so hard that you obliterate the problem.

>Implying patience and diplomacy is China, Russia, or the US' strong suit

Another thing I'd like to point out is the ridiculousness of the idea that humanity, a species that can barely make it to its own planet's satellite, would somehow have the ability to take down an alien vessel that's able to travel to other solar systems without much trouble. We are Bambi and they're most likely Godzilla.

The problem is that you're thinking small. A Space-faring civilization with the ability to move faster than light is probably wealthy enough to send multiple ships. Even if our nukes were to penetrate their ships' shields, they quite definitely have more ships than we have nukes

[Dogmeat]

So we've been blabbing away for, what, a century or so? No star systems capable of intelligent life within that radius. By the time the first episodes of Fibber McGee and Molly hit anyone/thing capable of interpreting them it's more than likely we'll have been extinct for millenia.

I mean our current saving grace is we don't have the technology to amplify our attempts, but why even bother?

In a paper posted on the preprint server Arxiv, Hippe and Learned demonstrate that both logic and available technology make it impossible to know if any message received from ET is contaminated. Opening – or decoding – a communication from an extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI), therefore, is a task suffused with potentially world-ending risk.

The chance that some form of alien would want to destroy humanity on very first contact is, they concede, probably rather low, but can’t be altogether discounted. Therefore, any communication should be treated with extreme caution.

“After all,” they write, “it is cheaper for ETI to send a malicious message to eradicate humans compared to sending battleships.”

Link

You don't have to click on that link, you just don't know..

Never trust a Hippe.

[Scomagia]

>Implying patience and diplomacy is China, Russia, or the US' strong suit

Another thing I'd like to point out is the ridiculousness of the idea that humanity, a species that can barely make it to its own planet's satellite, would somehow have the ability to take down an alien vessel that's able to travel to other solar systems without much trouble. We are Bambi and they're most likely Godzilla.

The problem is that you're thinking small. A Space-faring civilization with the ability to move faster than light is probably wealthy enough to send multiple ships. Even if our nukes were to penetrate their ships' shields, they quite definitely have more ships than we have nukes

Solution: We build more nukes!

[North German Realm]

The problem is that you're thinking small. A Space-faring civilization with the ability to move faster than light is probably wealthy enough to send multiple ships. Even if our nukes were to penetrate their ships' shields, they quite definitely have more ships than we have nukes

Solution: We build more nukes!

We aren't gonna build that many nukes anytime soon tho

[Yusseria]

seems stupid to shut down space communication based on nothing more than baseless fear.

[Bombadil]

The problem is that you're thinking small. A Space-faring civilization with the ability to move faster than light is probably wealthy enough to send multiple ships. Even if our nukes were to penetrate their ships' shields, they quite definitely have more ships than we have nukes

Solution: We build more nukes!

Even thinking they'd even need send multiple physical craft is limited thinking based on assuming a battle between two sides is necessary. Perhaps they send a program encoded in light that wipes us out without our knowing anything.

The point is that our current low point in technology, just 300 years in 60000 years of human life in a universe 14B years old.. it's crazy to flag our existence.

[Scomagia]

Solution: We build more nukes!

We aren't gonna build that many nukes anytime soon tho

Not with that attitude we're not!

Seriously, any species that could cross such vast distances could probably kill us before we even knew they were coming. It'd be like a bowman facing off against a drone.

[Scomagia]

Solution: We build more nukes!

Even thinking they'd even need send multiple physical craft is limited thinking based on assuming a battle between two sides is necessary. Perhaps they send a program encoded in light that wipes us out without our knowing anything.

The point is that our current low point in technology, just 300 years in 60000 years of human life in a universe 14B years old.. it's crazy to flag our existence.

It is crazy to flag our existence. However, what exactly would going dark, so to speak, entail? Not actively broadcasting or not producing identifiable signals at all ?

[Dogmeat]

We aren't gonna build that many nukes anytime soon tho

Not with that attitude we're not!

Seriously, any species that could cross such vast distances could probably kill us before we even knew they were coming. It'd be like a bowman facing off against a drone.

I recommend we learn to haka dance.

We'll still lose, but we'll look badass doing it.

[Page]

Even if we cease all deliberate SETI efforts, we're still going to be broadcasting our existence whether we want to or not, with all of our mass communication, our probes, our satellites in space, and the fact that if any sufficiently advanced society were able to observe the Earth from far away, they would be able to tell its inhabited by intelligent life. It's impossible to continue an advanced civilization without making lots of noise.

The vast distances of space also make it probable that the time between aliens receiving a message and actually making contact is ridiculously long, and by the time they actually get here things might be significantly changed. We think that aliens might fuck us up like European colonists did with Native Americans, cause it's guns against arrows. We may have the equivalent of arrows right now and the aliens guns, but if they just now became aware of our existence today by the time they get here we might have better tech than them. Or they're so much more powerful that we couldn't ever hope to match them in 100,000 years and we'll all die. Who knows?

And of course, aliens may be way more alien than we know. One day we might see ships in the sky and we think "oh shit!" but instead of shooting us the ships just dive into the Pacific Ocean and the aliens might settle at the bottom of the Mariana Trench because they're an ocean dwelling species that feeds on sea slugs and wants to use the energy from hydrothermal vents, and we would never really cross paths with each other cause they have no interest in the surface.

Any of these things are possible. Aliens could be our doom, our salvation, or just a strange species that doesn't interact with us at all. But I think if we're going to be found, we're going to be found, I don't think turning off SETI messages will make a difference.

[North German Realm]

Even thinking they'd even need send multiple physical craft is limited thinking based on assuming a battle between two sides is necessary. Perhaps they send a program encoded in light that wipes us out without our knowing anything.

The point is that our current low point in technology, just 300 years in 60000 years of human life in a universe 14B years old.. it's crazy to flag our existence.

It is crazy to flag our existence. However, what exactly would going dark, so to speak, entail? Not actively broadcasting or not producing identifiable signals at all ?

I assume not sending messages when we can't take out the people that receive them, should they be hostile. Maybe colonize our own star system first before doing "too dumb to live" stuff like that?

[Yusseria]

It is crazy to flag our existence. However, what exactly would going dark, so to speak, entail? Not actively broadcasting or not producing identifiable signals at all ?

I assume not sending messages when we can't take out the people that receive them, should they be hostile. Maybe colonize our own star system first before doing "too dumb to live" stuff like that?

Why?

[Scomagia]

It is crazy to flag our existence. However, what exactly would going dark, so to speak, entail? Not actively broadcasting or not producing identifiable signals at all ?

I assume not sending messages when we can't take out the people that receive them, should they be hostile. Maybe colonize our own star system first before doing "too dumb to live" stuff like that?

But basically all of our modern infrastructure is indirectly signaling that we're here. We're blasting out noise constantly. Short of going totally dark there's not much we can do to shut up.

Colonizing our solar system is going to produce tons more information blasting around from planet to planet. That's highly conspicuous.

[North German Realm]

I assume not sending messages when we can't take out the people that receive them, should they be hostile. Maybe colonize our own star system first before doing "too dumb to live" stuff like that?

But basically all of our modern infrastructure is indirectly signaling that we're here. We're blasting out noise constantly. Short of going totally dark there's not much we can do to shut up.

Colonizing our solar system is going to produce tons more information blasting around from planet to planet. That's highly conspicuous.

Sure, but building shit in our own backyard (and that is what the Solar System is. Our Backyard... that is unless we find out some other species lives in another planet and are like, more advanced than us), no matter how conspicuous, is different than going out to the street and yelling our home address to the public.

[Nimzonia]

I wouldn't worry about it. Any alien civilization that is capable of receiving our attempts at communication, and capable of getting here, almost certainly knows we exist already. Anyway, most reasons offered for aliens to attack us are pretty silly.

1. They don't want our resources because, on a galactic scale, we don't have any. The galaxy is full of resources more easily accessible than the paltry amount at the bottom of our gravity well. And they don't want the Earth itself, because if they did, they'd have taken it already. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Anyone in the galaxy will have had plenty of time to decide whether they wanted it or not.

2. They don't want slaves, because any civilization that can cross interstellar distances is too advanced for human slaves to be of any economic value whatsoever.

3. They aren't scared of us. On a galactic scale, we're like some primitive uncontacted tribe on a remote island in the pacific. Can you imagine a technological superpower like the US bombing a tiny primitive tribe, no matter how violent, on the grounds that it might one day be a threat? It's a ludicrous idea. Even if they did think we could be a threat 10 million years down the line, they could keep us bottled up here indefinitely with minimal investment of resources.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Nah i wana contact aliens, probably going to fucking die horribly but fuck it.

[Coruscanti Nations]

Humans should just invest in making the Galactic Republic reality.

[Ethel mermania]

Just the numbers suggest there has to be other alien life in the universe, as the milky way is old some oc those life forms have to be older than us. If we assume science and nature work more or less the same across the galaxy, top cat on those planets is most likely to be the apex preditor of that planet.


Damm right I would hide.

[Ethel mermania]

I wouldn't worry about it. Any alien civilization that is capable of receiving our attempts at communication, and capable of getting here, almost certainly knows we exist already. Anyway, most reasons offered for aliens to attack us are pretty silly.

1. They don't want our resources because, on a galactic scale, we don't have any. The galaxy is full of resources more easily accessible than the paltry amount at the bottom of our gravity well. And they don't want the Earth itself, because if they did, they'd have taken it already. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Anyone in the galaxy will have had plenty of time to decide whether they wanted it or not.

2. They don't want slaves, because any civilization that can cross interstellar distances is too advanced for human slaves to be of any economic value whatsoever.

3. They aren't scared of us. On a galactic scale, we're like some primitive uncontacted tribe on a remote island in the pacific. Can you imagine a technological superpower like the US bombing a tiny primitive tribe, no matter how violent, on the grounds that it might one day be a threat? It's a ludicrous idea. Even if they did think we could be a threat 10 million years down the line, they could keep us bottled up here indefinitely with minimal investment of resources.

Maybe we taste great in a tomato based soup, a little parsley, a pinch of spleen...

[Risottia]

Another thing I'd like to point out is the ridiculousness of the idea that humanity, a species that can barely make it to its own planet's satellite, would somehow have the ability to take down an alien vessel that's able to travel to other solar systems without much trouble. We are Bambi and they're most likely Godzilla.

That's why we should stop being Bambi and start being those pesky humans who can kill Godzilla.

The problem is that you're thinking small. A Space-faring civilization with the ability to move faster than light is probably wealthy enough to send multiple ships. surely fictitious as nothing can travel faster than light in any frame of reference.

NOTHING can travel faster than light in vacuum, porco dio ladro, quit blaspheming against physics, madonna troia!

Even if our nukes were to penetrate their ships' shields,

"Shields" are another item of fiction.

they quite definitely have more ships than we have nukes

I seriously doubt "they" could send more than 13000 ships in a single wave. Anyway, we can reasonably build way more nuclear warheads and vectors for that. Our supply lines are shorter.
That's not even counting the good ol' kinetic weapons.
Nice huge ship you have, now evade this cloud of 5000 unguided and unpowered depleted-uranium rods travelling at orbital speed; and the next one, and the next one, and the next one... sucker.

[Risottia]

I assume not sending messages when we can't take out the people that receive them, should they be hostile. Maybe colonize our own star system first before doing "too dumb to live" stuff like that?

But basically all of our modern infrastructure is indirectly signaling that we're here. We're blasting out noise constantly. Short of going totally dark there's not much we can do to shut up.

Colonizing our solar system is going to produce tons more information blasting around from planet to planet. That's highly conspicuous.

Actually not.
Making a radio signal travel for light-years without decaying into white noise because of wavetrain decoherence is no minor feat.
Also, interplanetar communication is better achieved via directed beam rather than via broadcasting over four pi.

[Ethel mermania]

Another thing I'd like to point out is the ridiculousness of the idea that humanity, a species that can barely make it to its own planet's satellite, would somehow have the ability to take down an alien vessel that's able to travel to other solar systems without much trouble. We are Bambi and they're most likely Godzilla.

That's why we should stop being Bambi and start being those pesky humans who can kill Godzilla.

The problem is that you're thinking small. A Space-faring civilization with the ability to move faster than light is probably wealthy enough to send multiple ships. surely fictitious as nothing can travel faster than light in any frame of reference.

NOTHING can travel faster than light in vacuum, porco dio ladro, quit blaspheming against physics, madonna troia!

Even if our nukes were to penetrate their ships' shields,

"Shields" are another item of fiction.

they quite definitely have more ships than we have nukes

I seriously doubt "they" could send more than 13000 ships in a single wave. Anyway, we can reasonably build way more nuclear warheads and vectors for that. Our supply lines are shorter.
That's not even counting the good ol' kinetic weapons.
Nice huge ship you have, now evade this cloud of 5000 unguided and unpowered depleted-uranium rods travelling at orbital speed; and the next one, and the next one, and the next one... sucker.

I dont think those alien space ships are going to care about a nuke. I am not a physicist but wouldnt a 1 gram dust particle being hit by a near light speed ship create an amount of energy far greater than a nuclear bomb?

[Risottia]

That's why you don't launch just one nuke at them. If it comes to actual blows, you must strike so hard that you obliterate the problem.

>Implying patience and diplomacy is China, Russia, or the US' strong suit

That's what you're implying. Sending a single nuke is just what China, Russia, the US or France wouldn't do: they would just fire half of their arsenal straight at the fuckers. Britain, maybe, but most likely they'll just drink tea, have some scones, and call the Doctor.

[Andsed]

The idea that aliens would want to invade earth is idiotic. If they want resources there are countless other planets that don’t have a hostile species with nukes or they could trade with us.